Stories by Matt Masterson

Chicago police say it’s unclear if anyone was struck after an off-duty officer was involved in a shooting in Belmont Cragin on Wednesday morning.

With voting coming to a close in Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle is vying for a fourth term in office and fellow Democrats are looking to maintain the party’s control on all countywide seats.

Activists in McKinley Park are calling on the state to postpone the sale and give the community an opportunity to weigh in on the decision.

Just minutes after polls closed in Illinois, the Associated Press called the race for the incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“It was really exciting and I’m really grateful that I have the opportunity to use my voice this time around,” said Karen Villagomez, who cast her first ballot Tuesday.

A rundown of some big Election Day races. What you need to know about the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The mayor’s budget passes City Council. And a student walkout at a local high school.

A proposed tax increase to benefit the Forest Preserve District of Cook County met with little opposition. Will voters respond with support at the ballot box?

With just one incumbent on the ballot and four seats up for grabs, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners is guaranteed to welcome a raft of new faces once votes are tallied Tuesday night.

Duckworth, 54, was elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving two terms in the U.S House. Salvi, 63, is a Mundelein lawyer who has never before held elected office.

Live updating election results for Senate, Congress, Illinois governor and other local races. 

Voters should receive a Ballot A and Ballot B but in roughly two dozen precincts, an unknown number of people were only handed Ballot A, officials said. The problem has been corrected.

The $2.04 billion prize is for a winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners instead opt for cash, which was valued at $997.6 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

A judge on Monday sentenced a man to life in prison for killing six members of his family, including two young boys, inside their Chicago home in 2016.

A rundown of some big Election Day races. What you need to know about the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The mayor’s budget passes City Council. And a student walkout at a local high school.

Illinois voters on Tuesday will decide races ranging from who will be the next governor and secretary of state, to whether the state will amend its constitution. We break down the races. 

The calls come following their principal’s response to a student who wore a military uniform costume on Halloween that was widely interpreted to represent a Nazi soldier. 

The so-called “Workers’ Rights Amendment” aims to codify in the state constitution the right to form a union and collectively bargain over a host of issues. It would effectively prohibit any future anti-union legislation, like right-to-work laws.

The budget takes effect Jan. 1, 2023, approximately two months before Mayor Lori Lightfoot is set to ask voters for a second term as Chicago mayor, does not include a property tax hike to keep up with the soaring rate of inflation, or any other tax or fee hikes.

Walgreens backs a deal to purchase a medical center company. The owners of a landmark hotel on Michigan Avenue are hunting for a buyer — again. And a new report finds Chicago’s affordable housing problem isn’t as bad as some other cities.

Brookfield Zoo is celebrating a big milestone. It was a century ago when construction on the grounds began.

The Field Museum renovated its Native North America Hall and drastically shifted its focus. The new approach emphasizes story-telling and contemporary art – as well as historical items from the collection. The exhibition space is called “Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.”

Walgreens extended its push into more comprehensive health care with its VillageMD unit acquiring another urgent and primary care chain, Summit Health-CityMD, in a deal worth close to $9 billion.

Republicans are predicting a massive red wave as anxious Democrats defend their narrow majorities in Congress while struggling to overcome pervasive concerns about the economy, crime and President Joe Biden’s leadership.

Election Day 2022 will kick off with a pre-dawn total lunar eclipse. There won't be another like it until March 2025.

Those killed in separate shootings over the weekend included a 15-year-old boy shot in a drive-by shooting and a 30-year-old man killed outside a River North club.

Representatives of the city’s Department of Transportation and the Budget Office declined to provide WTTW News with a full breakdown of spending during 2021 and 2022 under the banner of Chicago Works.